Sir William Digby, The Famine Campaign in Southern India, Madras, and Bombay Presidencies and Province of Mysore: 1876–1878

Digby was a Liberal who saw the famine in India of 1876–1878 first-hand and reviled the laissez-faire policies of the Famine Commission. The following excerpt is from Chapter 2 of Digby’s scorching critique of British governmental policies. It includes attacks on the prioritisation of ‘financial embarrassment’, making starvation a secondary concern. The text begins with an excerpt from Richard Temple (1826–1902), government official in India. Sir John Strachey (1823–1907) was a civil servant in India. The Hon. Mr. Arbuthnot is W. U. Arbuthnot, Member of the Council of India.